To many of those players, it may "feel" like SF2. It would be the same as Brawl players saying the agme feels like 64. It doesn't; you just think it does.
I'll go though each of them
EX-This is your problem. You look only at how hard it is to do one, not how it fits into the game. To everyone except competitive players, EXs are useless. I can fire a blue fireball, or a red one. It just adds layers to the game, but most players don't see that, nor do they care. They were a useless addition because only the top players could really use it. Everyone else didn't see the point.
Supers-The problem with SF4 is that the super, which is easier to do and is weaker, appear less then Ultras. Some characters don't even use their supers. I ask what the point of these were. Also, one motion is hard enough (which SF2 actually rewarded you for doing).
Ultras-Not only do these come up more, but they are harder to do. WTF? Plus, while 3 buttons doesn't sound hard, the window is so small of then to hit them. I have the same problem in TvC, so I have to use the L button (which is all three attack buttons).
Focus attacks-There isn't to much wrong with this, just that they cram too much stuff into the game
Focus cancel-I can't believe you think this is easy? Cancel anything is made for competitive players, and all it does is give them a huge advantage over weaker players. The problem is being able to do it on the fly. Plus, it's for the higher end players.
All of these are designed for dedicated Street Fighter players. So what am I suppose to do. It's no wonder SF has died and Smash has taken it's crown.
Seems like you dodged the question a little bit there.
Let's compare them though
Final Smash-Press B when you have a Smash Ball
Ultra-Preform two unique motions in rapid succession and press three punches or three kicks (depending on the character).
You can see the gap.
First, the bold: What? No, every gamer wants the game to be different. They want it too add to what made the first one great. Super Mario Bros 3 was an amazing sequel because it added so much. 8 huge worlds, new power-pus, lots of new enemies, the Koppalings, and new features like carrying a turtle shell.
Like I've said a million times, it's not that they are trying to make the game harder, they just demand features that would make the game harder. Does an ultra need to be that hard to do? No. But if it wasn't, the fans would go bonkers. They expect more depth and challenge, which in turn makes the game harder.
Let's look at an example: your Neo-Wavedashing. It lets you move quickly to the foe and attack. Newer player's will see no use because it would be just like running. It's also hard to do because you have to double tap back or forward, so it takes some precision. It will also widen the game between the top and lower level players. In turn, rather then spend so much time to try and get better, the player quits and find something they can like really quickly.
The thing is, while the players would want more people to play, they'd never want it too be more accessible. I've thought that to make Street Fighter big again, you'd have to go back to SF2. This would mean taking out most of the gameplay content (no ultra, EXs, Focus attacks, cancels of any kind and maybe supers). The problem is that the current fans would go ape ****. They'd hate it and see it as dumbed down. It would be hard to take off. The sad part is that Street Fighter is dead and can't come back from the grave. This also holds true for all other 2D fighting game sans Smash. So, this is the thing Smash has to avoid.
Part of the reason the competitive community would never accept anything to make the game more accessible is that they always see it as an "easy win" button. The auto-recovery idea was seen as just that. Complexity in game play does not make good games. Super Mario Bros. was run and jump and sometime shooting fireballs. Sports aren't hard either. Soccer is about kicking a ball. There is no super cancel or ultra shot in soccer. You kick, pass and shot. Done.
To grow, Smash has to attract players who would have never played Smash before. Basically, make Smash more assessable. From there, they need to do things that will keep current players such as adding new, interesting, and relevant characters, as well as stages and music and what not.
The fans may have some influence on what he choses but I think he mainly goes off his own wants for the game. In all honesty, I think Sonic has been the only exception of this which would explain why he wasn't even added until the Summer of 2007, just a few months before Brawl went Gold. (For those that don't know what that means, it basically means a complete playable version of the game with only some debugging left before it's released.)
